The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has accused the Israeli miliraty of attacking a peacekeeping patrol on Saturday.
The event happened around noon in the vicinity of the Lebanese village Aytaroun, located on the border with Israel and approximately 125 kilometers away from the capital city of Beirut. This incident occurred during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
As per UNIFIL, it occurred “amidst a time of relative tranquility along the Blue Line.”
At approximately noon today, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol was struck by gunfire from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the area surrounding Aytaroun, located in southern Lebanon, according to a statement released by the UN peacekeepers.
RT reports: Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen frequent exchanges of fire, mainly between the IDF and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. According to AFP news agency, the cross-border fire has killed 109 people in Lebanon, including 77 Hezbollah fighters and 14 civilians, three of whom were journalists.
UNIFIL, established by the UN Security Council in 1978 to monitor Israel’s retreat from Lebanon, reported that a staff member was harmed in an attack on their base close to the Houla village border. After the declaration of a four-day ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, Hezbollah expressed their commitment to abiding by the terms of the ceasefire, contingent on Israel doing the same, as stated by a source from Hezbollah cited by Al Jazeera.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission expressed severe disapproval of the attack that occurred on Saturday, describing it as “profoundly disturbing” and appealing to all parties involved in the conflict to protect peacekeepers. In a statement issued on Friday, UNIFIL cautioned that an increase in hostilities in southern Lebanon could have “catastrophic consequences” and urged all sides to break the cycle of violence.
Israel has not yet commented on the incident. Previously, the IDF stated that it was striking targets belonging to Hezbollah in response to rockets fired into northern Israel.
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